Madrid, June 3 (IANS) Spain will play the first of their two warm-up matches for the 2026 FIFA World Cup on Thursday night when they face Iraq at Deportivo La Coruna’s Riazor Stadium.

The friendly, Spain’s only match on home soil before the squad flies to Mexico to meet Peru on June 9 in the second preparatory match, will give coach Luis de la Fuente a chance to hand minutes to most of his players.

However, with Nico Williams, Lamine Yamal, and Victor Munoz still working their way back from muscle problems, and Fabian Ruiz, Mikel Merino, David Raya, and Martin Zubimendi only joining up on Tuesday and Wednesday after the Champions League final, Spain’s lineup is unlikely to offer many clues as to who will start its World Cup opener against Cape Verde on June 15.

The state of the Riazor pitch is a concern after fans invaded the field on Sunday to celebrate Deportivo’s promotion to La Liga, but De la Fuente was optimistic it would not be an issue.

“The news we have is that they have worked hard on it, and the pitch will be in good condition, which is important. The key thing is that the pitch is in good shape for safety reasons and to be able to put on a good show,” he said in an interview on Spanish radio station Cadena Ser.

De la Fuente repeated his confidence that Williams and Yamal will be fit for Spain’s opening World Cup match and confirmed Merino would probably get some much-needed game time, as he has hardly played since suffering a bad ankle injury in early February.

He was less forthcoming on his goalkeeping choice between Unai Simon, David Raya, and Joan Garcia. “I know who my goalkeeper is,” he said. “What’s more, I could tell you today our starting 11 for Cape Verde, but we have to wait, sometimes football changes things for you, but I am sure about our starting 11.”

–IANS

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